The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) has urged businesses to review their cyber security following a consumer survey on the perceived hacking threat.

The council’s study shows only 21% of respondents are confident businesses and organisations are well prepared for security and confidentiality breaches.

About 750 consumers participated in the survey.

“Experts are warning New Zealand is woefully underprepared for the increasing threat of cyber attacks and it seems the public agrees,” CEO Tim Grafton says in ICNZ’s latest newsletter.

The cyber crime threat gained prominence in New Zealand earlier this year when hackers targeted a supercomputer at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

ICNZ says globally the number of cyber attacks has grown more than 2000% in the past four years, with about 75% of organisations in the Asia-Pacific region hacked over the past two years.